10 things you need to know about your property tax bill

It's the holiday season, and that means semi-annual property-tax bills are coming out. To sort out the jumble of numbers, we've prepared a property-tax primer.

Bills will be mailed Christmas week, but Franklin County homeowners can find them online this week on the treasurer's website: treasurer.franklincountyohio.gov.

To see your tax bill, click on the menu logo in the upper right of the screen. Under “Payments,” click “Online Payments.” On the page that appears, click “Pay Taxes Online.” On the bottom of the next screen, search for your property by parcel number, address or name. The description that pops up includes a pdf page icon above “Semi-annual Bill.” Click on that, and it will show your bill.

Here's what the bill means: (The numbers refer to the numbered parts of the bill in the image accompanying this story.)

1. Property taxes are collected and distributed by county treasurers.

2. Tax bills are sent out twice a year, in December and June. Taxes are paid for the previous year, so bills sent this week are for the first half of 2017. (The example bill provided by the treasurer's office has an older date on it.) Tax payments are due Jan. 20 and June 20 — unless those days fall on the weekend — but some property owners pay their bills by Dec. 31 so they can deduct their real-estate taxes from their federal income taxes. Those interested in avoiding a huge bill twice a year — without setting up an escrow account with their mortgage holder — can arrange to pay monthly through the county’s Monthly Budget Payment Program.

3. There are 437,098 property parcels in Franklin County. Each parcel has a number.

4. Parcels in the same municipality may be taxed at different rates because they fall in different school districts or townships. (See No. 8 below.) Those variations have created 146 taxing districts in Franklin County alone. A list of taxing rates for all districts can be found on the Franklin County treasurer’s website by clicking on the main menu, then under the “About Taxes” section, “Tax Rates.”

5. Tax bills are in the property owner's name, but the name on the address is not necessarily where the tax bill is mailed. About half of Franklin County’s property owners don’t pay their taxes directly. They instead pay them as part of their monthly mortgage.

6. Properties are taxed at 35 percent of their estimated value. This year, most central Ohio counties, including Franklin County, reassessed property values. Franklin County values rose 14 percent since the last reappraisal in 2014. That does not mean, however, that property owners’ taxes will rise 14 percent. State law prohibits most taxing agencies, including the biggest (school districts) from collecting more revenue because of rising property values. County reassessments, in other words, serve more to redistribute the tax burden than increase it.

7. The combined millage rates of all taxing entities determines how much property owners pay in taxes. One mill means $1 in tax is due for each $1,000 of assessed value, so a property with an assessed value of $100,000 and a millage rate of 50 would pay $5,000 a year in taxes. The total millage rate is then reduced, because of the state law mentioned above that prevents taxing agencies from collecting more money because of rising property values.

8. For most property owners, taxes are distributed to 10 or 12 agencies, but the big recipients are schools, which receive about 80 percent of all property taxes collected in Franklin County. School district taxing rates vary widely, ranging from 31 mills in Teays Valley to 112.5 mills in Bexley. (The Columbus school district rate is 81.88 mills.) The highest total property tax burden in Franklin County is on property owners in the Perry Township portion of the Upper Arlington school district. They pay 152.38 mills — more than twice the rate of the lowest taxing location, in the Jonathan Alder school district portion of Washington Township.

9. “Gross Real Estate Taxes” are the total assessed value (No. 6) multiplied by the total millage rate (No. 7). From that figure, the standard reduction mentioned above is removed, along with specific deductions available to some property owners. The most common deduction is cut for being an owner-occupant (typically 2.3 or 2.4 percent). Another common way of reducing taxes is through the Homestead exemption, which allows disabled property owners or low-income seniors to deduct $25,000 from the taxable value of their home, assuming the home is their primary residence. Finally, in an effort to spur investment, municipalities have dramatically reduced ("abated") property taxes for more than 3,000 property owners in Franklin County.

10. The average Franklin County property tax bill for owner-occupied residences is $4,250 per year. Property owners struggling to pay should check to see whether they qualify for any reductions, such as the Homestead exemption. Franklin County suggests that those still unable to pay contact the treasurer's office, which can put them on a payment plan or refer them to agencies that can help.

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker

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